Kingdavid

iTrader: (1)

Hey all
Got an is350 about two months ago after doing a **** ton of research on it vs other cars (yeah I'm that kind of *******) and Im still drooling over it. ( still squeal like a girl when the steering wheel telescopes out to meet
Me.
But after reading on what the car is CAPABLE of, especially after comparing it to the grievously overpriced 335i (a Frankenstein'd attempt to slow the decay of BMWs waning glory/keep up with the new Infiniti g37/Lexus is350 model) I was disappointed in the forced induction options provided to us 350 owners. I've read all about TOMS kit (a joke if you ask me, no offense to
TOMS owners but I ain't spending that much for that little hp gain) and LMS and HKS kits and aside from the HKS i haven't seen a system
Really worth the time and effort and I'm still on the fence about the HKS price vs gains ratio. So after digging around I've found this. The ARMA supercharger kit for the 2GR-FSE.
http://modcarclub.com/forums/index.p...0b&topic=413.0
(link is from modcarclub but it has all the pertinent info and pics without having to deal with the convolution of the actual site.)
I've looked for the ARMA and threads pertaining to it on clublex and myis and so far it seems like this one escaped us. Its offering basically the same perprmance as the HKS more Or less but it comes across as a little less adhoc and more professionally designed/built. Im looking For anyone who's put this and wanna know what the experience was like, how much of a headache was it to install/have installed? What gains did you see? Any after-the-fact concerns about how it affected your car/ maintenance?

Tl;dr: ARMA supercharger kit for is350 anyone tried it, have it, heard of it? Thanks guys

AS~IS

First off, welcome aboard and congrats on your IS350!

Actually, here's a thread from a while back about the Arma S/C:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...ger-is250.html

AFAIK, nobody on here has the kit, but we have quite a few members who go back to Taiwan/are involved with the Taiwanese 2IS community, so hopefully they might be able to tell you a bit more about the kit.

Also, IIRC Kurtz had a friend that wanted to take some measurements on the 350 to see how viable a low cost, lower boost S/C kit would be... Not sure if anyone stepped up though...

And for the other S/C options, there are a few members on here who either have the superchargers that you mentioned or had something custom made...

laobo979

iTrader: (5)

Cause paying over 10g for this kit isn't worth the hp. Many will agree just buy an IS-F be a better deal when said and done.

edgeucated

iTrader: (4)

the problem with any of the kits is that even if they work flawlessly, you have no way of tuning the car. The ECU for our car has not been cracked, and it doesn't look like it will be crack anytime soon. That puts a severe limit on the amount of boost you can have, therefore, all the kits available can only add very minimum hp.

Kingdavid

iTrader: (1)

First off thanks for the welcome guys, Appreciated.

So I understand the major reason no one has an ARMA kit is because of availability issues and, of course the entailed headache with installment of a device that has foreign parts/instructions or they've gone for custom
Fits or other kits, interesting. I feel id trust a tuner company before trusting myself to fabricate an entirr kit especially considering the sensitivity of our Ecms but then again I'm not a tuner, professionally or otherwise.
But, despite that Im looking into the ARMA kit as well as the HKS so maybe I'll play the guinae pig for you guys on the ARMA unless HKS350's ride actually turns out to be the monster everyones hoping it is once it's tune settles in in which case ill probably play it safe and pore overthat thread and see if I can't join the forced induction ranks that way.

dmk08

This is exactly what I was thinking! I've been looking at switching out my 2007 350 for a 2008 IS-F and the difference is only about 11-13 grand. I don't know why anyone with a 250 wouldn't just buy a 350.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Unless you go that route, perhaps a twin turbo-charged stand-alone EMS setup could be in your future? If you've got money to throw at it, do it right...turbo all the way!

Just my $.02

Kingdavid

iTrader: (1)

In regards to the "buy an is-f" advice.
I would. But for me This has become personal. The 350 is a beautiful feat of engineering and attention to detail. To have some decrepit old company like BMW spend millions to slap two turbos on a 330 just so they can take away from that is infuriating. I want to show the REAL is350. The 170 mph nurburgring is350 (yeah yeah can't crack the ECM...yet) but also what would have happened if lexus had match bimmer tit-for-Tat and introduced "the new is 355, see BMW? We can slap a twin turbo on to." and ya I know the numbers are for displacement, I was just following along with BMWs bull****.
Frankly I want to park my car next to a BMW and say " yeah my cars cheaper, has a nicer interior, higher quality and reliability and oh yeah it's faster Lolz, but hey YOU'VE got a bimmer!"

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Then park next to a 328.

Because that's simply not possible with a 335 that's also allowed to mod.

They can spend a few hundred bucks and have more hp than an IS-F does stock. They'll still have crap reliability and interior of course.


ECU don't even enter into it... an 11.8:1 compression ratio does.


ECU and fueling will challenge you to reliably get past 5-6 psi... you can hack around these a little bit (see the HKS kit that HKS350 is running for example) but you're still not going much north of 7-8 psi without destroying the engine due to the compression ratio.


Now, if you want to rebuild the engine with aftermarket forged custom parts (good luck getting them right the first time- the piston is the shape it is for a reason) AND also find ways around the ECU and fueling issues... feel free... but you'll be spending a lot more than the BMW owner to do it... when you could've spent less to get an IS-F with over 100 more hp stock, a full warranty, and a vastly better transmission in it to boot. (plus better after-market performance options)



the money might be better spent on therapy if you're really that threatened by the BMW though :P

Seriously... stock for stock the 350 is within a tenth or so of the 335i performance and costs, similarly optioned, about $9000 less with a vastly nicer interior and vastly better reliability. You shouldn't really feel some need to "compensate" for that situation.

You can spend a grand or so on a really good, safe, nitrous kit if you want to be able to "beat" a stock 335i I suppose... or you can spend $6000ish on making your own 5-6 psi kit like the LMS one if you want to beat a stock one "all the time" too.

But the BMW owner will be able to spend a few hundred bucks and blow your doors off again (in between blowing fuel pumps anyway)... so what's the point?

Take it from someone whose last car had a lot more hp than any of the ones mentioned in this thread- there's always going to be someone faster.

Kingdavid

iTrader: (1)

Hey Kurtz
So ya' you're right about the tuning opportunities for 335 drivers, and I'm not a BMW hater either, BMW has a long history of dedication to performance and quality when their drive trains are concerned. There's a reason their engines are used more than anyone elses.
What I'm saying is the is350 is capable of performance levels superior to the is350. Theyve even made a supercharger for the 2gr-FSE and ya I know it's basically a rehashed TOMS, but that only shows me that someone aftermarket was doing it correctly enough for Lexus to adopt it wether it's out of sheer laziness or inability to do better (I doubt it, they built their own carbon fiber loom after all)
On top of that the is350 was seen doin 170 around the nurburgring(where I reference ecu) without a supercharger so the ability to perform against ita rivals is there, it's just left untapped.
Don't think I don't know why Lexus doesn't bother either, I get the mindset towards profitability and marketing vs playing the "Nah nah our cars faster" game *cough*BMW!*cough* but that doesn't mean it doesn't make
Me sad to see such an awesome automotive machine hobbled.

And again on the is-f: I honestly will never own an is-f, at 60,000 msrp I can get a
Used gt-r r35 with sub 20,000 miles on it and laugh while
335 Gb-3s and m6's and r8's and SLR's curse at my taillights, and yes I'd cram my sons car seat into the back to.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

But the toms kit sucks.

It's $10000+ for about 50 hp.

For that price difference you can just buy an IS-F and have double the gain stock, and a better transmission.


I'm not sure removing the top speed limiter will really help "performance" anywhere but a handful of tracks where going over 145 matters though.


again, hobbled how?

You really think limiting top speed to 145 rather than 170 is hobbling the car for 99.999999% of drivers?


But the F is new and the GT-R in your example is used... so your example kinda sucks.

If using used cars is fair, you can get a used IS-F for 35-45k.

Which is about what most folks pay for their new IS350.

Kingdavid

iTrader: (1)

Kurtz
I'm simply using the speed limiter as evidence that Toyota is constraining the performance capabilities of the is350.
Furthermore I KNOW the toms kit sucks...I wouldn't ever waste time
Or money on it. I just bring it up because that proves that Toyota had embraced, on some level,FI on the 2gr-FSE which means it's just a matter of making the technology affordable.
It's hard to convey, perhaps, which I see as a failure on my part because I follow almost all your posts so I know you're a smart smart man. But what matters to me is that the car I'm driving is at it's optimum insofar as performance and my issue pertinent to that is the expense attributed to that quest for fulfilled potential when, should Lexus (the people who gave birth to the LFA, the second most meticulously designed and pains taxingly developed piece of performanc oriented automotive artwork ever conceived) decide to pursue the issue the is350 would be the top in it's class in performance where it already (basically) is in interior and quality.
And finally on the is-f vs gt-r, I only used that to convey that I, frankly, think the is-f is a bit overblown. I've ridden in them and yes they're fast, but not so significantly faster than a is350 that it's worth the extra cash. A gt-r on the otherhand, is...and then some. Like the lfa it was designed with the pursuit of perfection in mind and that, more than anything is what I identify with hence my above argument and hence why my car doesn't like hks350's.

Gaugster

Regarding "ARMA". I've had several back and forth emails with them about this kit etc... They sent me over a magazine from Taiwan (I think) Not very much detail.

They are looking to partner with a local shop to do the install. I'm a DIY all the way so we could never agree and a price that would be worth my time and risks. I've got everything to lose whereas ARMA risk would be small. Just not a serious attempt to market to the USA. They even wanted to fly someone out from Taiwan to the USA for the install.

Kingdavid

iTrader: (1)

Hmm, that's a bit sketchy. My main interest was the kits impact on the cars performance and health once installed but just their customer relationship speaks leagues. There's something to be said about it being a foreign culture and the details that can be lost in translation but it seems like their just trying to eel as much cash outta you as possible which is worrisome. Thanks the shared experience. Like you I'm DIY as much ad possible for actual install. Tuning, not so much. Like muh car too much :/

CCM03

iTrader: (1)

Kingdavid

Get it and let us know! id buy it just for the sound if i had the cash...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEKiy...eature=related